There can be no doubt that celebrities impact what names we give our babies. There is research to back it up. A survey by Names.org looked at actors with unique names and found that as their star rose in Hollywood, the number of babies named after them skyrocketed.
“Most of the top 10 baby names of any year don’t come out of nowhere – they are usually quite popular the year before,” states CEO of RN Public Relations Rick Neil who handles PR for Names.org and who helped commission the study. “In fact, the top 10 names of any year are quite predictable.”
He added: “Since 1937, every single top 10 name for each year was in the top 25 the year before and nearly 99% of their time it was in the top 25 two years before. So, to make our predictions for 2018, we need to look no further than what is popular now. Some of the top boy names in 2016 (the most recent year the Social Security Administration has released data), including Noah, Liam, William, Benjamin, and James, will certainly make the list again in 2018. Likewise, Olivia, Emma, Ava, Sophia, and Mia will certainly be among the top girl names of 2018. We can say with nearly 99% certainty that the top 10 boy names and top 10 girl names of 2018 will be among the top 25 baby names of 2016. What about that other 1%? Check out the wildcard list of baby names trending now that might skyrocket in popularity.”
Foe example, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s career began in 1989 and that year, 398 boys were named Leonardo. As he got popular so did his name. In 2006, the year he filmed The Departed, 2,186 boys were named Leonardo.
Similarly, in 1998 when Ashton Kutcher filmed That 70s Show comedy, there were 1,028 boys were named Ashton. At the height of his popularity in 2005, when he filmed The Butterfly Effect, 5,435 boys were named Ashton.
Dax Shepard, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Dustin Hoffman and many others have had an affect on baby names. Check out these 12:
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